THEATER CARPENTER'S SON BUILDS HIS OWN REPUTATION TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF PANTAGES LOVES BEHIND-SCENES JOB.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer HOLLYWOOD - His personal score includes the raucous rumbling of scenery moving across a wooden stage and shouts of crews working on riggings, sometimes drowned out Drowned Out is a 2002 documentary by Franny Armstrong about the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project. It closely follows a family that is unwilling to leave its village home as the water levels of the Narmada River, mostly because the government provides them no viable by the searing sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. screech of a table saw. To hear Scott Madrigal madrigal, name for two different forms of Italian music, one related to the poetic madrigal in the 14th cent., the other the most common form of secular vocal music in the 16th cent. tell it, that's music to his ears. As technical director and head carpenter for the Pantages Theatre There are multiple venues named the Pantages Theatre: Canada
And he's clearly a man who loves his job. The 43-year-old Valencia resident followed his father's footsteps into an industry that has evolved and changed over the years. ``My father was head carpenter at the Ahmanson (Theatre),'' he recalls. ``I grew up running around backstage. We used to stand on the fly rail (a catwalk above the stage) to watch the shows. I remember looking down to watch 16 guys push a set. It was great.'' His typical day includes budgeting for crews, supervising load in and load out, making sure production companies have everything they need, including phones and office space. While the show is running, he makes sure crews are on time and on cue and, when need be, steps in to do a little work himself. ``There is no job too big or small for me,'' he said. ``I love this business. It thrills me.'' His big break came when he learned how to move scenery electronically, choreographing set movement via computer. ``Scenic automation gave me a push,'' he said. ``There weren't college courses to take, I learned it by studying books and manuals and actually working on shows. Automation made for bigger companies and more complicated, elaborate shows.'' His expertise made him sought-after for touring companies and his name soon became attached to big shows such as ``Beauty and the Beast'' and ``Ragtime ragtime: see jazz. ragtime U.S. popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries distinguished by its heavily syncopated rhythm. Ragtime found its characteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions, the accented left-hand .'' He was working on ``Phantom of the Opera'' in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden when he got the call from the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. production of ``Miss Saigon Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London on September 20, 1989, closing after 4,264 performances on October 30 1999. ,'' which ended up running nine months. That run made him decide to put down roots back in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . As he supervised the delivery of the set for ``Les Miserables,'' which opened Thursday and plays through Jan. 1, he said the current trend in live theater is moving away from heavily computerized shows. ``Large scale shows don't have to rely on computers to make an impression,'' he said. ``It's changing because of the expense of the computers and the ability to move a show quicker. 'Miss Saigon,' which is heavily automated, needs 27 trucks to move from city to city. You can move 'Les Miz' with eight trucks. But I'm glad it's going back to less computers. I like seeing a lot of men on stage pushing scenery.'' Madrigal was waiting for the last few trucks to arrive Tuesday; those bringing the 34-foot, 5-ton turntable and the 12,250-pound barricades critical to the story line were stuck in commuter traffic Noun 1. commuter traffic - traffic created by people going to or returning from work traffic - the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time . In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , his crew was busy on the stage, tying a giant French flag to one batten - a pipe that ``flies'' over the stage - and attaching a bridge to another. ``My father was a huge influence on me. I always said my dad was my hero. Very few stagehands retire when they are supposed to, but he did and now he's doing great, traveling. I'm still young; I've got a ways to go.'' He especially enjoys when the shows his dad worked on come back. ``We recently had 'Peter Pan' in this theater and 'Oklahoma' is coming soon. Both of those are shows I watched my father work on when he was in his 30s. They've got to be 40 or 50 years old. It's amazing how they hold up.'' In 26 years, he's grown accustomed to working 80 or 90 hours a week. ``You miss doing things with your family,'' he said. ``I tell people that we work when normal people don't. Our only days off are Mondays.'' Madrigal's wife is a former reading instructor; their 21-year-old son is studying video production in college and their 16-year-old daughter plans to study studio hair and makeup after graduation. His brother is head carpenter at the Greek Theatre and his older sister works in wardrobe at CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. . His younger sister is a makeup artist who has taken her niece to work with her on location with Paul McCartney Noun 1. Paul McCartney - English rock star and bass guitarist and songwriter who with John Lennon wrote most of the music for the Beatles (born in 1942) McCartney, Sir James Paul McCartney and Madonna. ``The best part of this job is hearing the audience. The worst is working weekends and nights,'' he said. And while audiences may have seen a fleeting glimpse of him moving a set piece or handling a technical situation, don't expect Madrigal to make a star turn on stage. ``I've never wanted to perform,'' he said, laughing. Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Scott Madrigal, technical director and head carpenter at the Pantages Theatre and a Santa Clarita resident, works with carpenter Vince Pittman on the set of ``Les Miserables'' in Hollywood. (2) Scott Madrigal, head carpenter and technical director at the Pantages Theatre, says his father has been a huge influence on him. He's now working on the ``Les Miserables'' production. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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